i n te r n a t i o n a l
Official Daily News Source for International Visitors at IFA

Record Sales at IFA 2007

Wednesday 5th September

A Great Vintage!

Entering this last day of IFA 2007, reports are already streaming in of major increases in business thanks to the show up to 40% for some! Retail chains are finding new value-added thanks to the internationalisation of the show, illustrated by the visits of an increasing number of top level trade representatives, including, as pictured here, the highly respected Victor Jachimowicz, Lab Test Manager for the Fnac, welcomed by Dr Christian Gke, COO of Messe Berlin, accompanied by Miss IFA. The international visitors at IFA not only like the show but for the first time ever are feeling at home in Berlin, because, according to Dr Gke, For the first time ever,

CONTENTS

01 > HEADLINE NEWS 08 > MARKET & TECHNOLOGY TRENDS 12 > MEET THE VISIONARIES 16 > PRODUCT TRENDS 25 > TRADE NEWS 29 > GOING OUT
the entire city both lived and breathed this consumer electronics show and wherever you were in the city, you could see that IFA was taking place and thats a very important reason for us to continue this way of doing business. International Manufacturers are also very much upbeat: We use the IFA in order to test our customers response to new products, says Sengl Soytas from the Turkish manufacturer Vestel. At this years show the companys exhibits include the prototypes of a 70 inch fullHD flat screen TV and a 42 inch HD flat screen set, which also serves as the screen for the integrated PC.
See Interviews with Dr Goke and Mr Jachimowicz on pages 3 and 25 respectively

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Akihiro Kambara
Senior Marketing Officer, Mitsubishi Electric
We know that we owe it to our retail partners to keep pushing. If we can keep them excited then that flows through to the end-users. Weve already seen an amazing reaction to our new projectors here at IFA from the public See page 15

Yoshiki Tanaka

Vice President & General Manager, Toshiba European Environment Office

Product Highlight

Our journalists have made a selection of their preferred products at the IFA 2007, and give a list of those they find the most innovative or original. The Toshiba Regza TV was selected for its aesthetic style the epitome of the new "lifestyle" movement that has marked IFA 2007.

./ Contd. Page 5

There is a symbiotic relationship between the creation of new values for the customer and the need to mitigate climate change, optimise resources and manage the use of chemicals. See page 7
IFA INTERNATIONAL ON THE WEB
Get the best of IFA 2007: All editions of IFA International as well as podcasts and videos of the key interviews and features are available for free download at
www.ifa-international.org
Dr Christian Gke, Miss IFA and Victor Jachimowicz, Lab Test Manager Fnac

Hats Off to the IFA Crew

Dr Christian Gke, the COO of Messe Berlin salutes the staff of IFA 2007 for what can only be described as a total success
were able to achieve our goals; we attracted more trade visitors than ever before, we had more exhibitors than ever before and as a matter of fact if you walk around here within the halls you see happy faces and thats all we want to generate within IFA and therefore we are happy organisers. As we can see, its becoming more international now the English language with the publication is also becoming more and more important. Do you have any feedback yet from the international visitors about how they are feeling about the show this year? With regard to our first official language obviously our switch over to English is highly appreciated, especially by our international guests and we felt that this was absolutely necessary to do in order to become even more international than we were before and I guess that the international visitors at IFA not only
like our show but they felt for the first time ever at home in Berlin because for the first time ever the entire city both lived and breathed this consumer electronics show. Wherever you were in the city you could see that IFA was taking place and thats a very important reason for us to continue this way of doing business. Its a massive show and all the people that work around you do a huge job in the run up to this but it must be very difficult actually running the show, how difficult is it running a show like this? Its a major logistical job and obviously economical endeavor and you can only run and manage this kind of a show at this level if you have an excellent team. Fortunately enough we do indeed have a great team led by Jens Heithecker and they have done a beautiful and marvelous job, so its working out fine.

As IFA 2007 draws to close we can already see this year has been a fantastic vintage. We spoke to Dr. Christian Gke, COO of Messe Berlin. Dr Gke paints a very upbeat picture of the 2007 vintage
Five days ago, we started out with a marvelous concert by Pink, we attracted a huge crowd to our so-called Summer Garden and that was the perfect start for IFA 2007. Over the last five days we
Massive Crowds Flock to Watch World Cyber Qualifiers at IFA
More than 40,000 people witnessed the German final of the World Cyber Games, which took place at IFA in Hall 10.1. The event is part of the eSportFestival World Cyber Games with the Grand Final taking place in Seattle from 3rd to the 8th of October 2007. During the qualifying rounds at IFA, over people passed through Hall 10.1. We deliberately hold these events in places where there are a lot of non-gamers in order to demonstrate that cyber games are a positive thing and that we are a serious organisation, Thomas von Treichel, PR & Marketing Manager at Advanced Cyber Entertainment, said. The World Cyber Games is the equivalent of the Olympic Games. Team Germany plays under the German flag in uniforms provided by Adidas. Financing is 100% sponsor-based with Samsung and Adidas as global sponsors. EA and AMD are the local sponsors. This years World Cyber Games Grand Final will see more than 700 gamers from 70 countries converging in Seattle, the United States for the gaming equivalent of the Olympics and total prize money of $462 000.
IFA International Wednesday, 5th September 2007

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29/08/07

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DESIGN IS EVERYTHING*
Design is a great word. Whether in engineering or in creative endeavours, as a verb, to design refers to the process of originating and developing a plan. Designing a marketing/communication campaign can often be even more important than the design of the product itself as sales reps and consumers are bombarded with an overload of conflicting information. We at Cleverdis therefore hold the belief that the growth of the CE Industry today will be increasingly dependent upon INFORMATION DESIGN. Through information design, presented in the form of Cleverdis SPECIALreports, many of the worlds top CE companies
benefit from the fact that we are able to put information into perspective for a market that hungers for newfound clarity and simplicity. IFA has this year chosen Cleverdis as the information designer of IFA INTERNATIONAL, the official English language daily magazine for the show. Find our more on www.cleverdis.com.
*According to wikipedia: Information design has been defined as the art and science of preparing information so that it can be used by human beings with efficiency and effectiveness.

pleasing development that consumers are once again investing more money in higher value products. In the first six months of 2007, Western Europe accounted for 61% of the total sales in the industry, with the UK coming in on top with a 23% share, followed by Germany with 21% and France with 17%. The remaining 39% is spread across seven other Western European countries in which comparative data is collected on an ongoing basis. For the year as a whole, GfK is forecasting sales totaling 62 billion for the European consumer electronics industry. The anticipated average growth rate for Europe is estimated at around 5%.

Camcorders

With sales down 1%, the camcorder market stagnated around the previous level in the first half of 2007. However, pressure on prices in this market led to a downturn of 10% in terms of sales value. By contrast, the demand for camcorders with new digital memory formats grew markedly.

Portable audio equipment

While growth in the digital portable audio and video player market slowed, it nevertheless achieved 22% in terms of units sold and 2% in value. Virtually all of todays audio players are flash memory products. This applies equally to the video player segment, where flash memory is now taking the lead and already accounts for 40% of total sales.
Western Europe: Consumer Electronics/Hardware 1999 2007*, sales in %

Assortment Development

CRT-TV LCD-TV Plasma-TV Front-/Rear Projection-TV Videorecorder DVD-Player DVD-Recorder Camcorder MP3-Player Home Audio In-Car-Electronics** Digital Still Cameras Gaming Hardware Others***
As in earlier years, TV remained the dominant engine of growth in consumer electronics. In the first half of the year, sales were up 9%, a result all the more impressive considering that the first six months of 2006, which represent the basis for comparison, was an extremely buoyant period, due to the World Cup football championships. LCD TV sales were up 36%. Sets with 32 inch (82 cm) screens were the runaway hit, with one in three customers opting to buy this size and 17%

2005 11

2006 6

2007 2

9% 6 10

Market Growth:

8% 10 3% 7 10% 7 5%

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Consumer IT Market Shows Double Digit Growth
An excellent first half of 2007: IT market above expectations
A first estimate by Research organisation GfK for the end of the 2007 run puts the consumer sales of IT and Printing products at an excellent double digit growth. If only to quote all consumer PCs, we talk about +25%.
The only shades in these trends are the clearly different speeds between resident IT products (printers, monitors, desktops), which move around +13% this year, vs mobility products, mobiles, navigation devices, external storage, which outgrow massively these trends. One figure only: consumer notebooks globally will probably increase by 45%, thus reaching over 40 million units. 2008 will see for the first time notebooks and desktops sharing the same amount of units sold to consumers. There is definitely no denying the positive effect all the communication and marketing investments done in explaining, demonstrating and selling the new technologies have born fruit, but still, why then the uneasiness about the back-to-school? Well, as much the rules have changed, as much these trends still have to prove they can last into next year. Behind the litany of trends, the key words this year for all have been: speed and flexibility. Speed of technologies roll-out, speed in product releases, speed of execution, to catch up, stay abreast or keep ahead of unprecedented trends. Flexibility of the offer and reactions. This is not the year to pause and consider. As with all ground swells, the principle need is to identify the real core, separate the wheat from the chaff. What does matter in 2008: immediate and direct usage advantage convinces, any other argument is simply swallowed. To take maximum advantage of this, the only way is to identify the core dynamics and ensure the basics are there. Indeed, the IT consumer trends are led by underlying dynamics that have durably modified the balance of powers in the market. same individual might very well belong to one group in PCs, to the next in printing or monitors. Even so they might have had prior access to IT, there are so many new opportunities in the markets that the consumers are ready to move on, mutate, change their habits: the bulk of the trends in units comes from first equipment or first access to the latest technology: either because real Broadband connections are finally available, or because the suburb is finally linked to the power grid, the remaining pool of un-covered population is massive. In the flurry of technologies and width of new products available, the purchase will fall back on price. As repeatedly shown, these population pools are obvious in the large new economies: India, Brazil, Russia, China, all markets above +25% for consumer desktops as an illustration, but are as well present in more mature market (Spain, France, and even UK). on the opposite, in established population and markets, the second layer of increase comes from new usage models: this leads value increase. These usages are rarely the ones advertised, or at least not as intense as described, but could be summarised as the my IT group. Having mastered the first access to the technology, they pick and chose the one usage that they want, and are ready to spend their money on it. Mobility, personal storage, Image Frames, are markets driven by the appropriation of the IT technologies by the consumer into his own space. Less easy to reach as more

Wolfgang Schlichting is a research director in IDCs Storage and Enabling Technology programs. As IDC's authority on optical storage, he sizes and forecasts the optical and removable storage markets. He is a regular speaker at a number conferences, is often quoted in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, Investor's Business Daily, Washington Post, Handelsblatt and other major Newspapers, and is a frequent contributor to a variety of trade publications. Before joining IDC in 1996, Mr. Schlichting worked at Reveo, Inc. in Hawthorn, New York. As Manager, Optical Mass Storage Systems, he led the R&D effort on liquid crystals based multilayer optical disk technology. The big question on everybodys mind is about the high definition disc battle. What can you tell us from your point of view? Of course BluRay and HD DVD have been on it for some time now, and both formats have made good progress in terms of availability, internal compatibility and lowering the prices. But the big news on the formats came out just before IFA, and it was Paramounts announcement to go with HD DVD only.

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The European TV Market
DisplaySearch Reports Continuing Rise for Samsung
As reported in one of our earlier editions, the recent success of Vizio in Q207 in North America has caught everyones attention in the TV and consumer electronics industries. A unique distribution model that coincides with the rising strength of the club channel in the U.S. as well as WalMarts bid to become a serious TV retailer has allowed Vizio to become #1 in North America in unit share for flat panel TVs. So, its natural to wonder whether a company can duplicate Vizios success in Europe. The retail environment is much different in Europe and the particular variables that led to Vizios success in North America are not present in Europe today. However, its success will certainly engender a response and a global reevaluation of strategy among the major TV players. Since the Top 6 TV manufacturers measure ultimate market share success worldwide rather than country by country and Europe is the worlds top flat-panel TV region. The Top 6 branded players continue to gain share in Europe and squeeze out other manufacturers. According to the DisplaySearch Q207 Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, the Top 6 brands made up 81% share in Q207 vs. 66% in Q104 (see Figure) Top Brand Unit Share Europe
45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0%

Q3 2004

Q3 2005

Q3 2006

Q2 2007
Samsung Philips Sony LGE Sharp Panasonic Others
16.7% 19.1% 5.7% 13.7% 7.8% 2.8% 34%
7.4% 19.3% 5.6% 12.0% 12.6% 3.0% 40%

ILA technology, but frankly one of our future trends is that we are trying to tailor our products more and more towards the end-users ease of use and their lifestyle. Our products have to appeal to
Hall 5.2, Stand 104 Hall 7.2c, Stand 101

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Nav N Go Q&A

On the occasion of the first commercial release of the iGO My way 8 software true 3D navigation software for mass-market products at IFA 2007, CEO of Nav N Go Leon van de Pas is in upbeat mood
to make navigation even more natural and dependable for its users. Its lifelike threedimensional images, accurate sound commands, exceptionally fast route planning, detailed maps and easy-to-use menus all serve to ensure reliable and safe orientation. What are you doing to grow the market ? The newest version of iGO My way is an ideal solution for first-time buyers as its Basic user interface is simple and easy to use. At the same time, the Expert mode looks set to be a popular choice for professionals. It offers numerous unique options which enable the user to completely customize the software the reason why taxis, rental companies and removals companies use this product. With iGO My way, we are confident of reaching our goal of being number one all over Europe. The software also allows selection from a variety of male and female guidance voices in 26 different languages and the voices can also be fully customised. The latest version of iGO My way introduces a significant step forward for multi-lingual countries such as Switzerland or Belgium, offering unique support on where multi-lingual countries can be compiled into a single map file. This allows in space savings on the device and simplifies the management of the maps. I believe that you have also introduced a system which allows consumers to replace their existing software with your own Correct. Its called the Limousine system and its aimed at people who are not happy with their existing system. In addition to the popular PDA-version, we have developed a GPS navigation solution for anyone who wishes to use the iGO My way GPS navigation software and benefit from its precision, reliability and high-quality graphic design on a large screen built into the dashboard. Limousine is an excellent choice for those drivers who already have their own original built-in navigation system but would like to switch to a more comfortable solution as well as to supplement the existing one with new maps. At the same time, it is a good solution for people planning to purchase a display or a sound system that can be built into the dashboard, since Limousine is compatible with most of these types of display. What are the core values of the company ? Nav N Gos primary goal is to make everyday life simpler and more comfortable through advanced technology. To this end the company has also launched an Application Platforms division which aims to provide a coherent package of all the software components that users may need for both work and play. Our navigation solutions are perfectly complemented by the Application Suite and the products of PDAmill Game Studios. How will this suite of applications work in reality ? As modern becomes ever technology more allpervasive in peoples every day lives, it has become more or less unavoidable to organise some part of our daily activities electronically. In addition to mobile phones, an increasing number of people use PDAs, music and video players and, of course, many are really enthusiastic about navigation equipment as well. Unfortunately it is not easy to carry all these devices around, and they can become more of a hindrance than help. Our latest product solves this issue. The Application Suite extends the functionality of navigation devices, turning the mobile device into a fully-fledged, indispensable personal digital assistant. Our software includes everything you might need for your life or your work.The Application Suite supports a variety of mobile devices including PDAs, PNAs and intelligent phones. Our All-inOne Application Suite includes a calendar, a task manager, an address book, a notepad, a world clock, a calculator, a camera, a picture viewer and a media player that is able to handle most common video formats. In addition it offers city-specific weather forecasts as well as phone, text messaging and e-mail functions. With the Bluetooth module it is possible to download data to the device or to use it as a hands-free speakerphone.

Im very happy to be able to demonstrate the first commercial products presented by Mio Technology Europe and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe at IFA. Theyre both based on our navigation solution which allows full customization of their navigation product portfolio. Combined with our unique features like real 3D and the 70 countries we cover with our map data, Im confident that they will further increase their market share. Of course our ultimate goal is to reach pole position in navigation software development and Im convinced that iGO My way 8 represents another step in the right direction. How have you managed to take so much market share so quickly ? Our software allows for navigation through a life-like 3D space with buildings, landmarks and topographic maps plus extremely rapid route calculation plus advanced
software architecture enabling full customization of user interface, work flows, voices and languages. With 39 languages the package also offers extensive language support and covers over 70 countries with navigable maps. We launched our first handheld software iGO My way 2006 last year and it has still not been out-performed as of today. It remains highly popular and since then Nav N Go has partnered with 35 global consumer electronics and automotive brands who between them are due to launch over 60 devices based on our software archirecture in the next few months. Is it also a case of the right product at the right time ? Definately. Travelling and navigation are becoming inseparable and an increasing number of people rely on satellite navigation, either through their mobile devices or systems built into their cars. Our revolutionary GPS navigation software is intended

Hall 8.1 Stand 115

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Projecting Into The Future
Mitsubishi is focussed on expanding the Home Theatre market in Europe
Akihiro Kambara, Manager, Marketing Section, Visual Information Systems at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Living Environment & Digital Media Equipment Group is at IFA to introduce two new projectors. The high-end HC 6000 and the entry level HC 4900 are both Full HD. The HC 4900 is priced below 2000 euros and will, Kambara San believes, open up a whole new market for Home Theatre
cost we are very proud of the new Sirocco fan system. By redesigning the blades we have managed to make the fan very quiet. It produces 19 Db of noise which is quieter than airconditioning systems. We actually see that feature as having Wife Acceptance Factor which we, like everybody these days, are obliged to take on board when designing products. What sort of reaction have you had from dealers to these new models ? Theyre very excited. We believe that the offer is really a good example of magic pricing. And following last years broadcast of the Champions League in HD, 1080p is now much more high profile in Germany, so I think the end-users are ready for a product like this. European broadcasters are still pretty slow in bringing HD channels to the market. What can you do to encourage them ? We are part of the BDA and we actively lobby broadcasters in Europe, but we are happy to see that Blu-ray and HD DVD are both really starting to build momentum and there are much cheaper players for both formats. Blu-ray players are now available for less than 500 euros and there is an entry level HD DVD player for below 300 euros. Plus Blockbuster recently announ-ced that they will be stocking Blu-ray discs. This is a very significant move because the chain has around 6000 premises. And then theres the first generation of HD Camcorders. All in all, we think weve

brought these products to the market at the right time. HD was first introduced in 2000 and the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan saw sales explode in those two countries. What are HD services like in Japan now ? There are now eight public free to air HD channels in Japan plus two PPV channels. 1080p is now fully understood by the consumer and increasingly the norm. Although I said that Europe is behind we are seeing a significant shift in attitudes with the idea of 1080 becoming more and more aspirational. I think that it represents a big opportunity for retailers, especially at the high-end of the market where profit margins are significantly larger than entry-level products. But the whole point about entrylevel is that it is not wholly about profit, its more about market penetration. Can you give us some insight into the sales targets that Mitsubishi has set itself ? Were hoping to sell something in the region of units of both models by the end of 2008 and most of all we are determined to stay in the top spot for Home Theatre. We were number one in Q1 of this year but the sector is undeniably becoming more competitive.
The market is so fast moving and addicted to innovation. What else might we see from Mitsubishi in the next 12 months ? Were looking at many options but its certain that well be introducing new lighting devices. We know that we owe it to our retail partners to keep pushing. If we can keep them excited then that flows through to the end-users. Weve already seen an amazing reaction to our new projectors here at IFA from the public. Id like to thank Paramount Pictures for providing us with some top quality content in the form of Mission Impossible III and Dream Girls. People are queuing to watch them on our booth which is very gratifying. Content really is the key to opening up the Home Theatre market. When the public see what films like those look like in HD, it builds a buzz. Finally when do you think we might see a sub 1000 euros 1080p projector ? We already sell a 720p projector for 990 euros and while I know that it is not 1080, 720p projectors nevertheless cost 2990 euros in 2005. So I think its reasonable to speculate that well see one before the end of the decade.
The HC 4900 is the first ever 1080p projector priced at below 2000 euros and I believe that it has come to the market at just the right moment. We are approaching Christmas, which will kick-start the market, and then next year we have the Olympic Games which will be broadcast entirely in HD. Plus 2008 theres the European Football Champion-ships. 20082010 is going to be a very important period for Mitsubishi.
What technological advances were central to the introduction of a sub 2000 euros Full HD projector ? We have developed a new chassis for the circuit board and optical lenses that use the automatic iris function which offers a very high contrast ratio. On the HC 6000 its 13 000:1 and on the HC 4900 its 7500:1. And although its not particularly related to overall

Hall 22, Stand 101

Multi-Room Music System Now For 999 Euros
allows access to multiple sources including Internet music and Internet radio. Another key customer benefit is the ease of use and installation of the system thanks to an intuitive Controller with navigation scroll and a large colour screen. From a distribution perspective, the system has numerous advantages. The whole package includes the multi room configuration, a ZP80, a ZP100 and a controller. The system is also in line with the current explosion of the digital music industry, and generates return business and high margin additional sales through speakers and other peripherals. Finally, Sonos pursues an active channel marketing policy, offering high quality PLVs for the points of sale including shelves and floor displays that allow an optimum presentation of the systems to the end customer.
Up until now, multi room systems were reserved to an elite clientele who could afford the expensive systems and the cost of a specialist to install wires and configure the system. Sonos wireless multi room music system is not just another major technological innovation, it can today be considered as one of the best wireless multi room audio system on the market and is available for 999 euros. Just like an IPod for the home, the system makes for a user-friendly and convivial music experience with its playlist and album information features and

Hall 17, Stand 207

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NordMende Remember Jaideep Rathore, Sr. Vice President the Name? IFA International spoke to

Sales and Marketing.

Some years ago, NordMende was best known as a German manufacturer of CRT TVs. Today, NordMende are owned by VDC Technologies S.p.A. Italy, which is a subsidiary of Indian multinational Videocon Industries Ltd. They still make CRT televisions but also offer a wide range of Plasma and LCD TVs.
What section of the market are you targeting and in what countries do you expect see growth? We are aiming at the medium price market sector where we believe there is the greatest growth potential. We are already well established in Germany, partially due to the legacy of the old NordMende company but we are aggressively targeting Italy and Spain. What would you say your most innovative product is? Our latest and most innovative product is the 32 LCD flat panel TV, with integrated DVD player. Its an HD Ready box and features our patented Natural Easy View Engine (NEVE) video processing chip which provides a low intensity image particularly comfortable to watch at close distances. We also have 20 and 26 models. Do you make plasma TVs as well as LCD and CRT? Yes we do. We already have from 42 to 63 available, these are developed by our own team who are currently working on a model. The great debate as to the merits of plasma over LCD continues but one thing is sure as LCD TVs get larger there are issues with sound. By 2009 we expect to be making our own LCD panels. Its interesting to hear you still make CRT based TVs, I though this was an almost obsolete technology? When you consider that 50% of the TV market in Eastern Europe and even 30% in Germany is CRT based, it makes sense to produce such sets. We have developed a new ultra slim picture tube, which has much less depth than conventional tubes, therefore the TV has quite a small footprint. Besides making our own sets in a range from 21 to 52 cm, we supply these picture tubes to manufacturers such as Philips and Thomson.

small time. even if we need three days at least to visit the show. What is important at the show? The most important thing is to see the products, because of course we can discuss with top management any time we want, either in France or in the country of origin, but seeing most of them in one place, and not far away in time from one another is something which is a true benefit. And we cannot have that except in such a show. Finally, there is some news that will no doubt be of major interest for the manufacturers present. in that change is afoot in your office. Tell us about this. Its a change in my life. Ive worked for the Fnac for 46 years now, and I am preparing to retire, so Fnac recruited the man who will follow my work at the lab, and we will work 67 months together to pass all the content and knowledge. My successor, who is with me here in Berlin, is Pascal Petitpas, who is well known both in Japan and in France, because he has worked for 17 years for Panasonic, where he was in charge of marketing, training and many, many things, and we already worked together when I was a customer and he was a supplier.
Pascal Petitpas, successor of Victor Jachimowicz

Page 26

The Importance of
First of all, the IFA is the most important Consumer Electronics show. We are market leaders in flat screen mounting in Europe, so for us it is very important to be here. As you can see we have a relatively big stand where we can receive our distributors from all over Europe but also the consumers can come and see our products. How has the business been going for you at IFA this year? We have been doing some very good business here, and that is the main reason why we are here. We had a big show for our

Customer Feedback

Albert Zeeman, Marketing Manager - Vogels gives us his feedback concerning the importance of IFA as a trade show for the group.
distributors three months ago so they could prepare themselves for IFA in order to be as successful as possible in terms of sales. And that is exactly what has happened; we have closed a lot of deals here, and people will be able to see our products throughout Europe. Where has the main interest been coming from? We had a lot of trade visits from Germany, Holland, England, France and Scandinavia. This might be due to geographical proximity to Berlin as well. On the consumer side, we have seen mainly German visitors, and it is always good to feel and hear the reaction directly from the public and the end users.

IFA International Wednesday, 5th September 2007 27
are very popular but as we always want to stay one step ahead weve just introduced a new product, the titanium model. It goes with either black or grey TVs and we think were on to another winner.

Hall 25 Stand 102

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31/08/07

IFA 2007

TRADE VISITORS TOUR

This year these popular tours are available for four different sections of the fair. Audio Entertainment Home Entertainment Technology & Components Connectivity The main attractions will be Web 2.0, digital photography and music in the new My Media section, best sound and best image for an optimum home cinema experience, communicating with providers of phone services, satellite navigation, cable and aerial broadcasting, the international halls and the IFA Science and Technology Forum.
Date: Time 11.00 11.15 11.20 11.35 11.40 12.00 13.30 13.45 13.50 14.05 14.10 14.30 Date: 11.00 11.15 11.20 11.35 11.40 12.00 13.30 13.45 13.50 14:05 14.10 14.30 Date: 11.00 11.15 11.20 11.35 11.40 12.00
31.08.07 / 01.09.07 / 02.09.07 Exhibitor Hall Kenwood Electronics 1.2/105 Beyerdynamic 2.2/101 Xounts AG 7.1/101 Yamaha Elektronik 1.2/106 Sony Deutschland 7.2/101 Maxfield 14.1/101 03.09.07 / 04.09.07 Kenwood Electronics Beyerdynamic Xounts AG Yamaha Elektronik TrekStore Maxfield 1.2/105 2.2/101 7.1/101 1.2/106 16/101 14.1/101 05.09.07 Kenwood Electroics Beyerdynamic Xounts AG 1.2/105 2.2/101 7.1/101
Dates: 31st August to 5th September Time: daily at 11 a.m. and 1.30 p.m., on 5th September at 11 a.m. Place: tours start at the International Trade Visitor Reception in Hall 1.1 and will take an hour Commentary will be in English or German, depending on the nationalities of those participating.
Date: Time 11.00 11.15 11.20 11.35 11.40 12.00 13.30 13.45 13.50 14.05 14.10 14.30 Date: Time 11.00 11.15 11.20 11.35 11.40 12.00 13.30 13.45 13.50 14.05 14.10 14.30 Date: Time 11.00 11.15 11.20 11.35 11.40 12.00 13.30 13.45 13.50 14.05 14.10 14.30 Date: Time 11.00 11.15 11.20 11.35 11.40 12.00 13.30 13.45 13.50 14.05 14.10 14.30 Date: Time 11.00 11.15 11.20 11.35 11.40 12.00

Brandenburger Hof Hotel

Tegel airport, Tempelhof airport and Schnefeld airport are located at 15, 20 and 45 minutes away. For gourmet palates, utter indulgence awaits in the Quadriga restaurant, where gourmet chef Bobby Bruer will bombard your taste buds. His quintessential cuisine has been awarded one Michelin Star. The hotels wine cellar, known as the Treasure Trove of German Wines is a fitting compliment to Brauers cooking.
A selection of suggestions of what to do and where to eat, drink and party from the visiting press core at IFA Peter Grabowski of WDR: Lining is on the Tucholskystrasse, close to the Ecke Auguststrasse, is a new club in the rooms of former famous jazz and ambient sclub Jubinal. Although it only started this August started it has already become one of the hot spots in Berlin Mitte. It attracts a typical Berlin crowd, and the music is pretty varied but overall quite relaxed from downbeat and ambient with a little house. I highly recommend the Rat Pack Night which takes place tonight. Ben De Kock works for Test-Aankoop, the Belgian equivalent of Stiftung Warentest in Germany: I dont live here but last weekend we went out and sampled the delights of this amazing city. Bar on the Wesserstrasse in Berlin Neukoln is a relatively new bar in a beautiful part of Berlin. It has really special decoration, very raw, with some elements of old DDR furniture. Also important is the relaxed atmosphere in the bar and the music they play is nice, a wide variety of styles for all tastes. One of the best clubs at the moment is the Panorama Bar-Berghein on the Rudersdorfer strasse. I went to this club on Saturday night. It has very industrial style of dcor and occupies two different floors, one being the Panorama bar and the other is Berghein the electronic club. The music was amazing, as were the people and the atmosphere. Monika Kruse played a live set in the Panorama Bar which was great and I also would have liked to hear Zander VT but they only started at 9 am :-0 On Sunday afternoon we went to the 'carnival of the freaks' near the planetarium which was very funny too. In terms of a restaurant we went to the Trattoria Venezia in Neukolln. They serve pizzas that are 60cm in diameter, really incredible, but unfortunately I do not know the name of the street although I can tell you that its close to subway station Gorlitzr Bahnhof. Ulf Tegler is a freelance journalist. dicken Wirtin on the Carmerstrae is a typical Berliner Scene Kneipe (a kneipe is an intimate, smoky local bar) that harks back to the hippy era of the late 60s. They serve good food, good beer and the place is a magnet for good people both the clients and staff.

When TASTE Matters.

With 3 hotels on Berlins most famous boulevard and one hotel in the South of the city, with ideal transport connections to the Eastern and Western quarters and to Berlins Schnefeld airport (SXF). AHC Hotels Berlin - addresses to remember!
Hotel Belmondo am Kurfrstendamm, Joachimstaler Strasse 39/40, 10623 Berlin Hotel Frhling am Zoo Berlin, Kurfrstendamm 17, 10719 Berlin Hotel Boulevard Berlin Kurfrstendamm 12, 10719 Berlin
EuroHotel Berlin Airport BBI Rudower Strasse 90-94, 12351 Berlin

www.ahc-hotels.com

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30/08/07

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